Economy Changing Kids' Wish Lists to Santa

By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – Economic troubles are being felt all the way to the North Pole. Many kids who talk to Old Saint Nick are thinking more about needs than wants. Santa said sometimes, he hears about the hard times when children plop down on his lap.

This year it seems the number of merry greetings you hear may not be tied to the number of gifts under the tree. Parents are cutting back on toys and giving basic essentials like shoes and socks to their kids this Christmas.

"I think it was more toward the economy, getting something they actually needed and on the side, something that they wanted," said mother Maria Martinez.

Santa Claus said the extent to which money woes are weighing on children is clear. He hears it in what they're asking for.

"Some of the fancy shoes, the newer kinds of shoes that are coming out, and they want those. ‘And those are kind of expensive, but could you get those for me Santa?'" Kris Kringle said.

Santa said most of the younger children he talks with still request toys. But it's the older, school-aged kids who are more in tune with financial reality.

"They're asking ‘Can you help daddy find a job?' Things like that. It's kind of hard on them," Mr. Claus said.

Still Santa said, based on the stories he hears among the network of Santas around the country, he thinks kids in Oklahoma are better off.

Old Saint Nick said the most popular items he's getting asked for this Christmas are still toys with Dora the Explorer and Barbies for girls and racecars and fire trucks for boys. Older kids tend to ask for electronics.